Tips for Hardgainers

Do you find it hard to pack on muscle? Read on to find out how you can go from being the skinny guy to looking ripped!

Want Muscle? Yes, you need to eat more...lots more, but that's not all.

If you're going to build muscle, forget about fancy diets, intermittent fasting, or whatever the new fad diet is currently. You will need to eat frequently, and yes, that includes carbs. Gaining muscle is all about getting the calories in (and more importantly, training hard off course - nothing worth having comes easy). Your main goal is to get in those extra calories, roughly about 3500 extra calories per week! So get into the habit of eating. If you're not full, it's time to eat.

But how?

Here's a few tips:

Keep easy calories handy. (Nuts, dates, beef jerky, boiled eggs etc) I usually have these on hand in the car, and snack while I'm driving.
Drinking calories is easier that eating them. So add a few protein smoothies to your daily consumption.
Most of what you eat should be lean meats, rice, beans, potatoes, nuts, fruits, eggs, and lots of veggies. You can also include calorie dense foods, such as peanut butter, protein shakes with milk, avocados, etc.
Instead of just eating more of the same thing, add more variety to your meals to avoid palette fatigue. Increase the flavors and textures, and you will not get bored with eating.
You eat more when the food is delicious, so learn how to cook tasty meals.
Schedule your nutrition. Yes, this means meal prep a few days of the week.

Most important, lift heavy weights 3-5 times a week.

So you think you have been eating more, but not seeing results?

Research on lean, healthy subjects have shown an increase in Basal Metabolic Rate, for about the first two weeks with overfeeding. This means that when you eat more, your body's first response is to increase your metabolic rate. This could be why it's not working for you. You eat more, but don't see the results (because your body is adapting) so you stop trying. Don't worry, your metabolism won't keep increasing forever, so just keep at it, and after a few weeks you will start to notice a change.

Reference

Harris, A. M., Jensen, M. D., & Levine, J. A. (2006). Weekly Changes in Basal Metabolic Rate with Eight Weeks of Overfeeding. Obesity, 14(4), 690-695. doi:10.1038/oby.2006.78.